Rewind 12 months and Irish striker Andy Keogh was on the verge of being a hero in his debut season for the Perth Glory.
Keogh burst onto the scene in his opening season in the A-League, scoring a goal in his first game in the purple strip and brace in his second, before finishing the season with 12 next to his name and as the Glory’s leading goalscorer for the season. He was instrumental in the Glory’s on-field success and was their most damaging player in the first half of the season.
But things went south for not only the Glory but Keogh himself from there on in. Without being terrible, Keogh was a shadow of the player he was early in the season and his side consequently suffered. Despite the form slump, a highly anticipated finals campaign was on the cards, before the Glory’s season completely collapsed amid well publicised salary cap breaches in which Keogh was the central figure. As a result, the club lost its finals position and Keogh was one of several players to leave the club at season’s end, opting to pursue opportunities in Thailand.
After an unsuccessful stint in Thailand, the Glory swooped on Keogh in a time of desperate need, while cutting ties with one of their more unsuccessful off-season recruits in Guyon Fernandez. Keogh has signed a two-year contract, and while there was a certain level of unpredictability surrounding the recruitment of Fernandez, Keogh is a proven performer who has the runs on the board. The Glory are on the ropes, they are down, but they are not out. If they are going to muster up some sort of revival in the back half of the season, Keogh might just be the catalyst they are after.
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The Glory’s season has had more ups and downs than a yoyo, and after a recent patch of positive performances in which they recorded two important wins and two successive draws, they have now experienced two consecutive losses including the weekend’s loss against bogey side Adelaide United, with Keogh unable to make the instantaneous impact for his side that he would have liked. Keogh has himself acknowledged that match fitness is his biggest barrier at this stage, and while time is of the essence, a couple more weeks on the track will do Keogh the world of good.
Diego Castro has been one of the shining lights in the Glory’s overall disappointing 2015-16 campaign so far and the combination of his creativity in midfield and Keogh’s finishing ability up front is a salivating prospect. Keogh has hinted at a desire to form a partnership with Castro and if the two are able to progressively form strong chemistry throughout the rest of the season, it opens the way to a realm of possibilities.
Hope has been scattered few and far between throughout the Glory’s season and Keogh provides just that – hope. And the timing, well, it could not of been better. As Keogh has rightly pointed out, there is still 39 points up for grabs.
Do not write the Glory off just yet.
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